Blog - Car detail Austin

Should I ceramic coat my new car?

Should I ceramic coat my new car?

Should I do paint correction on my new car?

Feynlab Ceramic Lite is a great budget option coating that lasts 1 year

These are questions I often get from people that buy new vehicles. The answer is, it depends on your expectations. If you want your paint perfect, as glossy as possible and protected once it is - then my answer to both questions is yes. However, to some, perfection is not expected and just a clean car is enough. I would say, worry less about the paint correction but seriously consider a ceramic coating.

A ceramic coating will provide you with better protection than any sealant or wax while enhancing the gloss and keeping your car cleaner longer. Ceramic coatings (or nano coatings) work better for a few reasons. Sealants and waxes sit on top of the paint as a sacrificial layer that breaks down pretty quickly, is not chemical resistant and offers no additional strength to the paint. Nano coatings are different, as they are nano particles of either quartz (most) or ceramic (few). Through the use of carrier fluids, (fluids that work into the pores of the paint to 'carry' the nano sized particles), these nano particles are able to work into the pores of the clear coat and cross link with the paint. Thus, infusing quartz or ceramic into the paint increases the slickness of the paint (surface tension), and improves resistance to chemical etching.

These traits are what you'd want with any protection on your paint, Best part is they last 1 - 7 years depending on the coating you select. So In summary, ceramic coating your new car is highly beneficial to your paint's protection, gloss and longevity.

However, we must be realistic of what our expectations are and how we care for our vehicle to make the decision if you should coat your new car. Coatings are not rock hard surfaces that prevent scratches, nor are they an impenetrable barrier on your paint, and they will not magically keep your car perfectly clean all the time. They require you to properly care for your vehicle, which many just don't have time for. Some like to run their car through the car wash and go about their day. If this is you, I'd say don't invest in a coating, spend your money on another part of the car you may enjoy more.

If you are the kind of person who will properly wash and regularly keep up with the maintenance of your vehicle's appearance, plans to 'baby' their new car and want it looking good; coatings will make this much easier for you. Proper hand washing your coated car will reward with a car that always looks clean, with extremely glossy and deep paint. If this is what you desire with your new car - coatings are an excellent option for you.

Why should I paint correct a new vehicle? Well, dealerships are not in the business of paint preservation. Dealerships wants to move the vehicle through the process quickly so the washing and care process is brutal on new paint. Recently, we worked through both of these with a customer who purchased a brand new Toyota Tacoma.

This customer wanted to keep his new truck in perfect shape as it sat outside, so we initially talked about clear bra and ceramic coatings. However, budgets often drive us to a specific path and clear bra would have to wait. After a discussion, we opted for a paint correction and a 1 year coating, Feynlab Ceramic Lite to protect the truck until next year when we will apply clear bra (after removing the coating).

We began with an initial power wash to remove surface debris and dirt, then moved on to a sudsy wipe down with a super plush microfiber mitt to ensure no new scratches were introduced.

Toyota Tacoma after sudsy wipe down

From there we dried the car with hot air, again to avoid any potential abrasion or scratches introduced to the paint.

Blow drying the truck after rinsing prevents marring

This gave us a baseline of what we were working with and it was clear, the dealership made their mark (or marks) by washing and drying the truck improperly.

As you see from the image, the dealership's wash and dry process marred the paint

We did a test spot to polish out the marring and got the process we needed to correct the rest of the truck.

After polishing, the marring and swirls have been removed

Once done polishing we moved on to applying Feynlab Ceramic Lite, a solid 1 year coating for those that want a shorter term coating and to save some money while doing it.

Once coated, the truck came out incredible. The paint looks deep, blue and glossy as it should and the metallic really pops in the sun. The customer was stunned and how different his truck looked and can rest well at night knowing its okay to sit outside while he sleeps and he'll enjoy the ease of keeping it clean all year.

If you bought a new car and are considering how you want to protect it or you are looking to perfect it, reach out to us. We can talk through all of the options to find what's best for you.